Sharing uselessness with the internet since 2004, for no discernible reason.

Monday, November 08, 2010

The Real Great Political Divide

Everyone seems to agree that ours is a country that's divided politically, but the flaw with that conclusion is not so much the division itself but who is on the different sides. It's not conservatives vs. liberals, or Tea Party vs. GOP, or even major parties vs. third parties; ultimately, all of those people are on the same side.

Yes, you read that right. Voters of the Republican, Democratic, and independent persuasions are all together here. They constitute the party of those who actively involved in the political process, of those who are actively invested in the game. These people feel passionately about not only their positions and candidates but about the concept of politics.

On the other side are those who don't vote, or who only vote intermittently, and for whom politics is merely that thing necessary for achieving the larger goal of governing. Some of these people genuinely don't give a crap, some of them used to give a crap but are disheartened and cannot put themselves through further disappointment, and some of them have only a limited amount of time to devote to paying too much attention to the process. Their commonality is their lack of passion; it's not that they don't care at all, but their positions are not so deeply entrenched that they'd get into arguments about them. I'm not really doing them justice with this description, but with any luck you get the idea; they're not anywhere near as gung-ho about politics as the first group.

Why someone falls into either category is far too complex to even attempt to explain, and that's not the point here. This is not a judgment about who is better or worse; this is merely identifying that's where the divide lies.

People in the first group may have fierce arguments about politics, may decry those who hold an opposing view on an issue or candidate's worthiness, but in the end they understand each other; they respect the passion (perhaps unconsciously) even if they don't respect the positions.

What baffles those on the political left, right, and middle are those who are not really on the political landscape at all. They are flummoxed that anyone could not be heavily invested in it. They are, of course, very biased about that.

I'm not sure if those who aren't terribly invested (if at all) are confused by those who are. It may be that some of them are, while others can conceive of such a thing but simply (for whatever reason) don't feel it; that intangible eludes them.

Whatever the case, ultimately that is the reason as a nation we cannot see eye-to-eye. Some look way too intently; some don't look enough.

There is one item about which both sides can agree, however: Everyone thinks I'm full of crap.